Staying at home: CAPS offers many ideas for aging in place

GHBAGHBA REMODELORS COUNCIL

Published 5:30 am, Friday, June 26, 2009

FAMILIAR SURROUNDS: A Certified Aging in Place Specialist helps design elegant, aesthetically pleasing, barrier-free environments, such as this bath.

FAMILIAR SURROUNDS: A Certified Aging in Place Specialist helps design elegant, aesthetically pleasing, barrier-free environments, such as this bath.

Staying at home: CAPS offers many ideas for aging in place

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In response to the huge wave of baby boomers starting to retire and take care of their parents, all sorts of products and services are popping up catering to the 50-and-older crowd. However, none of them hits as close to home as the nationally acclaimed Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) program.

It is a recent construction credential that has homeowners, builders, architects, remodelers, designers and occupational therapists taking note. Aging in place (aka independent living) principles are changes designed to custom fit your home to you and your household so it is safe and comfortable as time goes by.

CAPS design takes your current and future circumstances into consideration, and focuses on elegant, aesthetically pleasing, barrier-free environments. These changes are beautiful and can increase the value of your home, according to Realtors who have seen these well-planned home modifications.

What is aging in place, exactly? If you are like the majority of Americans, you want to continue living at home in a familiar environment throughout your maturing years. Aging in place means living in your home safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of age or physical ability. It addresses the need to remodel existing homes, and design new homes so people can age in place and not have to move to assisted-living facilities or nursing homes.

Boomers are catching onto this trend fast, and they are 77 million strong making up 28 percent of the total U. S. population. Moving to a typical assisted-living facility can cost upward of $60,000 per year — each year — plus the cost of the move.

The cost to widen the bathroom door, put in safety bars and a roll-in shower would typically cost about $10,000 to $15,000, and it’s a one-time expense. Also, consider the psychological impact of being uprooted from community, familiar surroundings and rituals, independence and privacy. The affordability of aging-in-place remodeling is enhanced by the fact medically necessary changes (such as wider doorways or a roll-in shower) are tax deductible if backed up by a letter of necessity from your doctor.

Too early to think this applies to you? Consider how many folks develop bouts of arthritis at an early age. Look at your house. If you fell and broke a leg, how easy would it be to get into the bathroom, or up and down the stairs? Perhaps you have aging parent or relative who is facing these challenges who may need to move in with you.

There are remodelers in the Houston area that have training in this kind of design. Look for contractors who have earned the CAPS designation. They can be found on the AARP Web site at www.nahb.org/directory.aspx?sectionID=0&directoryID=188 CAPS is a nationwide initiative, and connects homeowners with professional contractors with training in this area. CAPS contractors must keep current with continuing education and subscribe to a written code of ethics.

The overall goal of a CAPS is to make the home safer, with less maintenance and easier to live in. Typical changes can include: